BEET it! - round 2
The garden veggies continue to grow, although we have had some cooler temps (nothing below freezing yet!) but we have also had some beautiful, warmer days - like yesterday. The sun was shining, I got off work early (yes, I worked Sunday) and after having a lovely brunch with Kate and her parents, grocery shopping and mowing the lawn shorter I got to work on some chores I have been meaning to do. The chores weren't too extreme but included picking my three giant heads of cauliflower (white, cheddar and green), making a chocolate cake and some less interesting chores I will leave you ignorant of.
Well - I had started the process of baking the cake a few days before, but I have been wanting to just veg (pun intended) after getting off work - but yesterday was the day! I finished puree-ing what needed to be pureed for the cake, mixed all the ingredients and had a deliciously chocolately smelling house for the rest of the night. So . . . what did I have to puree for a chocolate cake - well . . . it was BEETS!
I have been mesmerized by foodgawker.com for awhile and I look searching the recipes by one ingredient I have on hand - beets was the winner. I came across hundreds of recipes including beets and farfalle, beet-slaw, beet humus, beet risotto, borscht, and - the one thing that stood out and didn't repulse me - chocolate beet cake. And, I am telling you before hand - if I offer you a piece of cake or a cupcake in the next few days, don't be surprised if it has vegetables in it because this cake was moist and a little extra "something" to give it an unique, but delightful taste. (Actually, as I type this I am eating one of the cupcakes . . . ).
Chocolate Beet Cake
5 medium beets (I used three big beets and several smaller ones)
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (I used golden brown)
3 large eggs (I used three small-ish eggs as they were organic)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Wash beets clean of dirt and remove any gnarly roots. Place in a pot filled with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until beets are tender. Drain liquid and remove skin. Place beets in a food processor and process until beets are pureed.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour baking pan(s).
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and beet puree.
In a separate bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix into the beet batter until well combined. Pour batter into prepared baking pan(s) and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan before removing to cool completely on a cooling rack. For a more fancified look, dust with powdered sugar with one of those cool templates.
I chose to make 12 cupcakes and a 9" cake as cupackes are more portable and J enjoys them more. Also, I put both pans on the middle shelf and they baked for about 38 minutes at 350 and were cooked thoroughly and still moist. Another tweak I made was that I boiled the beets and then let them sit in the refrigerator for two nights - I would like to say it was because I wanted to enhance the flavor and let some of the coloring return, but I just didn't have the energy to make a cake the following two nights after work - and everything tasted great!
I am going to try these out on J at our dinner-date tomorrow and see what he thinks - and after he eats one entirely, I will share the secret ingredient. Entrapment - no, it is just getting vegetables in our diet through unconventional means.
The garden veggies continue to grow, although we have had some cooler temps (nothing below freezing yet!) but we have also had some beautiful, warmer days - like yesterday. The sun was shining, I got off work early (yes, I worked Sunday) and after having a lovely brunch with Kate and her parents, grocery shopping and mowing the lawn shorter I got to work on some chores I have been meaning to do. The chores weren't too extreme but included picking my three giant heads of cauliflower (white, cheddar and green), making a chocolate cake and some less interesting chores I will leave you ignorant of.
Well - I had started the process of baking the cake a few days before, but I have been wanting to just veg (pun intended) after getting off work - but yesterday was the day! I finished puree-ing what needed to be pureed for the cake, mixed all the ingredients and had a deliciously chocolately smelling house for the rest of the night. So . . . what did I have to puree for a chocolate cake - well . . . it was BEETS!
I have been mesmerized by foodgawker.com for awhile and I look searching the recipes by one ingredient I have on hand - beets was the winner. I came across hundreds of recipes including beets and farfalle, beet-slaw, beet humus, beet risotto, borscht, and - the one thing that stood out and didn't repulse me - chocolate beet cake. And, I am telling you before hand - if I offer you a piece of cake or a cupcake in the next few days, don't be surprised if it has vegetables in it because this cake was moist and a little extra "something" to give it an unique, but delightful taste. (Actually, as I type this I am eating one of the cupcakes . . . ).
Chocolate Beet Cake
5 medium beets (I used three big beets and several smaller ones)
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (I used golden brown)
3 large eggs (I used three small-ish eggs as they were organic)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Wash beets clean of dirt and remove any gnarly roots. Place in a pot filled with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until beets are tender. Drain liquid and remove skin. Place beets in a food processor and process until beets are pureed. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour baking pan(s).
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and beet puree.
In a separate bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix into the beet batter until well combined. Pour batter into prepared baking pan(s) and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan before removing to cool completely on a cooling rack. For a more fancified look, dust with powdered sugar with one of those cool templates.
I chose to make 12 cupcakes and a 9" cake as cupackes are more portable and J enjoys them more. Also, I put both pans on the middle shelf and they baked for about 38 minutes at 350 and were cooked thoroughly and still moist. Another tweak I made was that I boiled the beets and then let them sit in the refrigerator for two nights - I would like to say it was because I wanted to enhance the flavor and let some of the coloring return, but I just didn't have the energy to make a cake the following two nights after work - and everything tasted great!
I am going to try these out on J at our dinner-date tomorrow and see what he thinks - and after he eats one entirely, I will share the secret ingredient. Entrapment - no, it is just getting vegetables in our diet through unconventional means.
you sure have beets on the brain eh? thats a sneaky way to get veggies into your diet :)
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